Women in Sport With Katie Catherall

Regular physical activity is a remarkable way of bringing families together, allowing them to bond over the shared experience as well as providing many teachable moments.

Emily McManus knows just how beneficial sport can be, growing up in a sporting family and taking herself through some incredible moments on her journey. Having found a love for physical activity in primary school, Emily would often go on runs with her dad as a child and quickly noticed her passion for keeping fit grow even stronger.

The 17-year-old from Stalybridge has tested herself in countless sporting activities, from actively being involved within her secondary school’s PE department to now representing her area at a national level.

Her sporting adventure began when she took up the sport of rugby, developing a passion for not only the training element but also the thrill of competitions. Playing at Dukinfield Rugby Club alongside her sister, Emily learnt a lot from this sport, including the importance of determination and drive.

These qualities soon became immensely important as she began to learn the art of Olympic Weightlifting. She began this discipline at age 14 with no prior experience but was delighted to find she had a natural talent for the sport, seeing herself work her way up quickly.

After her older sister Ellie had also found a passion for Olympic Weightlifting, Emily knew she was destined to succeed in this also, and therefore joined Triple X Weightlifting Club in Stalybridge.

‘My coaches Adam Travis, Sam Travis and George Travis guided me and helped to improve my technique. They helped me to gain power and mobility for the incredibly technical sport’ she says.

After finding her feet at the club, Emily began training after school during the week and spent her weekends competing.

‘Competitions varied through age and weight categories and I soon began winning titles. I became the British National Champion multiple times for both U15’s and U17’s’ Emily says.

These successes came as welcome news to both her family at home and the family she had found with Triple X and the hard work and dedication she had committed to this discipline shone through even brighter than they could imagine.

Aside from this, Emily decided to join a weightlifting camp at Wright Robinson College in which she encountered various other teenage athletes with similar capabilities and skill sets to her own, only further benefitting her training and love for the sport.

Now a student at Ashton Sixth Form College, Emily is continuing to use the deeply rooted dedication she has learnt from years of sporting activity by projecting it into her everyday life, always on the lookout for the next challenge to tackle.